Breathe Life
by silenceeverything
Summary: "Oh won't you breathe life into these dead lungs I keep under my coat. And keep life warm against the cold night as our bodies grow old." Haleb, 7x10 oneshot. Rated M.


**Voted for on twitter as next thing you guys wanted to see. Warning, although not majorly graphic, there is very clear smut in here. Thank you my dear hannnarivers for proofing as always - go read her stuff if you haven't already.**

 **Enjoy... Haleb is endgame.**

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 _"Oh won't you breathe life into these dead lungs I keep under my coat  
_ _And keep life warm against the cold night as our bodies grow old"  
 **\- Breathe Life, Jack Garratt**_

* * *

"Guys, what's going on?"

As soon as she'd heard him, she'd felt her lungs tighten. And when she turned to take in the only male in the room, it was like any remaining air had left her body. Half of her wanted to run into his arms and tell him everything; everything she hadn't been able to tell her friends, everything she hadn't been able to tell herself. Half of her never wanted to see him again. He was still so perfect, so protected from her deepest, darkest secrets and scars and she was a walking hurricane, sweeping people up one-by-one and spitting them back in out in an unrecognisable state.

But he was also her air. Whether she liked it or not.

Blue met brown and suddenly she could breathe again.

"Hey Caleb," She allowed her lips to pull up in a fake, reassuring smile.

For a moment, he didn't speak. All he did was stare at her, drinking her up. She was there, alive and looking at him with so much trepidation. He decided in that moment that he was never letting her out of his sight again.

The girls, the room, the surroundings, faded to black as he took three strides forward and pulled her into his arms. "You're okay," He whispered in her ear before he remembered just who they were with and he stepped back. His wounds from his brief but intense dalliance with Spencer had never fully opened, but he was aware of how she felt and it would have been more than unkind to make his feelings towards Hanna anymore obvious than they already were. He would not let himself or Hanna be the salt in a slowly healing wounded relationship.

"Yeah," Hanna ran a hand awkwardly up to her hair, "I'm fine," She smiled tightly at him.

"Okay," Detective Furey came back in with a clipboard and pen, unknowingly breaking the tension that had encompassed the room. "Once we take this written statement, you're free to go," He looked at the blonde, who nodded shortly.

"Now?" Hanna asked; she wanted this to be over as quick as possible. Lying to her friends was one thing, lying to her friends _and_ Caleb was another. Their relationship... Friendship... Relationship... _Whatever it was..._ had always been built on trust and honesty and she hated chipping away at that.

She could feel his eyes on her as she sat down and recounted her story word for word. It was so rehearsed, so forced and she felt like everyone knew she wasn't being truthful. But no one called her out on it, nobody stopped her from signing the paper at the bottom, no one asked her any questions that would have undoubtedly unwoven her story.

She wanted the room to swallow her up whole and never let her see daylight again.

"I'll take you home," Caleb stood up, jolting her from her thoughts and leaving no room for argument.

"I'm gonna stay at Ali's tonight," Emily said when Hanna looked back at her questioningly.

The blonde tugged on her sweater sleeve and walked over to the girls nervously, "You guys aren't mad at me, are you?"

"No," Emily smiled, "I promise."

"We're just glad you're okay, Han," Aria reached out to pull her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," She said, " _Again._ "

"I think we all need to relax tonight," Spencer commented, her arms folded as she watched Hanna.

Alison snorted, "Is that even possible in this town?"

"Spencer's right," Hanna backed her up with a tight smile, "We can at least try." She glanced over her shoulder at Caleb and could see him waiting impatiently by the patio door, typing something on his phone. She swallowed uneasily. Alison was right, relaxing was going to be near impossible if she had to keep up false pretenses with him around. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," She forced out.

"Bye Han," The girls' voices became indiscernible as she headed for the fresh air, breezing straight past Caleb.

They were both quiet as they climbed into his Jeep and started the short drive across town to Lucas' apartment. "You should call your Mom," Caleb broke the silence, "I texted her to tell her it was all a misunderstanding and that you're okay but she still wants to fly back home."

"Thanks," She mumbled, digging her phone out of her pocket. "You didn't need to."

"Yeah, I did," Was the last sound she caught before her phone was ringing down her ear and she found herself consumed with convincing her Mom it was better for her to stay in London than come all the way back to Rosewood. The last thing she needed right now was somebody else breathing down her neck and the further away from her that her Mom was, the safer she was.

They made their way into the apartment, her ear still being chewed off with concern as her Mom finally started to back down. "I love you," Hanna said as Caleb shut the door behind them. Her Mom repeated the words back and as she hung up, she found herself smiling properly for the first time that day. Nothing healed like a mother's love.

"Has she calmed down?" She turned to find Caleb looking at her with concern, one hand in his pocket as the other leant on the sofa. Did he have to look so good? He was clouding her thoughts, blurring her boundaries and fighting his way in. No, she couldn't let him. It would hurt too much. For both of them.

"Yeah," She sighed, pulling her backpack off, "She's gonna stay there. Thanks for bringing me home," She shrugged nonchalantly. If there was ever a cue for him to leave, that was it.

"You okay?" He looked at her with those burning eyes that told her he did not buy what was about to come out of her mouth for one second.

"Yeah," She said as convincingly as possible, her arms folded across her chest in the hope that it would send him the right message. She needed every deflecting barrier she could get right now.

"You sure?"

" _Yeah,_ " She smiled defensively, "I told you guys what happened."

"I know," He looked off to the side and she could see he was weighing up what to say next.

She _knew_ him; he'd either go direct or let it drop. Right now, she didn't know which one she wanted more. "So then why do you keep asking me if I'm okay?" She'd pushed him.

"I guess I'm waiting for an answer that I believe." Okay, he was going direct and she knew her defensiveness had been the catalyst.

She paused and mustered as much strength as possible; this was her last chance to keep him out, to save herself from the inevitable heartache that came with loving him infinitely and not having it returned. " _I'm okay._ " She pleaded with her eyes for him to believe her, but he just smirked and turned his head.

"Sorry, I don't buy that," He shook his head in disbelief. Hanna Marin was the most frustrating and rewarding person in the world - when she stopped adding bricks to her ten feet walls. He didn't care what it took, he was going to break them down and weasel his way so deeply into her life that she had no choice but to never lie to him again.

"Seriously, Caleb," She turned away from him to hide her face; he could read it too well, "You can go, alright? There's a cop right outside my door and he's not moving."

Caleb rolled his eyes. She clearly wasn't getting it. Of course he knew there was a cop outside her door who was going to keep her 'safe'. But that cop didn't love her, didn't want to protect her with every fibre of his being. "Well neither am I." Goddammit, he was going to get through to her if it was the last thing he did. She turned from the fridge and looked at him questioningly, "Seriously."

She sighed; she didn't have the energy to try to decipher what he was saying to her anymore. "What are you talking about?"

"Hanna," He tilted his head at her. He was going to have to spell this out, "The last time I left you in a room alone A.D. took you. So I hate to break it to you girl, but you're stuck with me."

She internally shirked; she didn't want his guilt to be the reason he was there. That might have been more painful than him not being there at all. "Well, I really want to be left alone," She said with as much conviction as possible, shooting him a look before walking past him.

"Why?" Her eyes closed in pain at his simple question; verbalising how she felt would only make it hurt so much more. "Do you have somewhere you need to be?"

"You know you are a real pain in the ass," She spun around and spat. She just needed him to leave her alone so that she could try to put her feelings for him in the same box as every other nightmare she was living with.

"So are you."

"Excuse me?" She looked at him disbelievingly. She was doing him a favour right now, keeping him out of the mess that was her life.

He was so frustrated with her in that moment that he couldn't hold himself accountable for what was about to come out of his mouth. "Hanna, you don't do dishes until they mould. You eat French fries in bed, cold." This was it. "You don't gas up the car until it starts beeping, you won't _admit_ that we're supposed to spend the rest of our lives together. You send food back if the waiter breathes on it funny." He didn't miss the way her eyes flared as his words hit home. He meant every single word of it and he wanted her to believe it more than anything, but the thought that she might not kept the words tumbling out of his mouth, "And you know what, there's probably milk in that fridge that's older than me."

She was still looking at him with those goddamn piercing eyes and in that moment he thought he might break at her uncertainty - how had he let it get to a point where she ever doubted him. "What did you say?"

He smiled slightly. "About the milk?"

She shook her head and he vaguely heard her mutter the word "No," in his direction. He could see it now - it was written all over her face; the disbelief, the unwillingness to let him love her, the fear that she'd get hurt again. He knew all about that pain. They'd both carried it around for too long.

And right now, he was going to put it right, going to heal them both.

He took a step forward, their eyes glued to each other like magnets as he allowed himself to move as close to her as he could without losing control. His voice dropped and softened, tenderness flowing out across his features as they drank each other in, "I never want to spend another day without you. Ever." This was really it. "For the rest of my life."

He meant it with everything he had within him.

Finally, she gave him one of her heart-clenching smiles as her eyes watered, "Like I said, you're a real pain in the ass." She rolled her eyes in disbelief at herself. He'd never let her down and he never would.

He grinned at her words and she felt him inch closer. She couldn't take her eyes off him, but it wasn't enough, she needed to touch him, feel him under her hands, on her lips. He was hers and she was his.

Her hands were round his neck as her eyes closed and suddenly they were kissing like it was their last breath. Maybe it was. The way his lips cupped her top one, the way his hands gripped her back and pulled her close to him like they were suctioned together, the way his nose bumped hers at the perfect angle, yes, Hanna Marin was taking her final breath as heaven swept her up and enveloped her in love and safety.

The water in her eyes threatened to spill as he kissed her back just as hard. He tilted his head and she smiled slightly against his mouth - she knew that move, she _loved_ that move - but it disappeared as soon as his tongue fought its way in to dance with her own. She could feel his fingers gracing her back muscles and in that moment all she wanted was to be with him. Her hands fleetingly unlaced themselves from his hair to push his denim jacket off his shoulders.

She didn't care where it landed. She didn't care where anything landed as long as it was off his body.

He pulled back and breathed heavily, "Wait," He murmured and for a second she thought he regretted it already, "Wait here," He breathed, ducking his head down to steal one more lengthy, wet kiss before he left her standing there as he disappeared off down the corridor.

She had no idea what he was doing. All she knew was that without him wrapped around her, she was cold again. She spotted the remote control for the fire on the rug where she'd probably dropped it earlier and raced over to grab it, kneeling as she tried to figure out exactly what setting she wanted it on.

"What are you doing?" She looked up to see Caleb back in front of her, a smirk on his face as he took in her tousled hair and plump lips.

"I got cold," She whispered as he knelt down right in front of her too. She thought he was about to say something when he reached a finger out to trace down her cheek. She let him touch her, caress her as she knelt there silently, watching the lazy pattern he drew down her sleeve, underneath the waist of her jumper, into the back pocket of her jeans.

"Hanna," He murmured, encouraging her eyes back to his. She saw it, she felt it, she drowned in it. It was fire, it was love, it was warmth. As he pushed his mouth onto hers it was all consuming. It was hard, it was soft, it was a moment, it was forever, it was everything kissing Caleb Rivers always was and would be.

She helped him when he reached for her top, trying not to get frustrated when her hands got stuck in the sleeves. He helped her like he always did and as soon as she could, her hands were back in his hair, on his shoulders, touching and grasping at as much of him as she could. She groaned into his mouth when his fingers diverted to her arse, cupping and pulling her against his arousal as he still kissed her for all he was worth.

She wanted to feel his skin too though, and so she quickly pulled her head back to pay attention as her hands unpeeled the buttons on his shirt. One by one, she felt the intimacy drape over them as he gently held her arms and watched her. They were teasing each other and toying with time before he couldn't take it anymore, yanking the shirt off behind him as she reached for his face, drawing him into her and taking as much as she could.

She felt him reach a hand round to graze over her other shoulder as she gripped his back, her fingers squeezing in time with her tongue as they kissed again and again. It wasn't enough. She wanted everything. Tugging her lips back, her forehead dropped onto his momentarily before she was ducking down to reach for his belt buckle. He helped her, his fingers pulling it fully free as his arms encouraged hers back around his neck, his lips dipping to her collarbone to caress her skin tenderly.

That's when he saw them.

The scars.

And it reminded him of how he'd almost lost the most perfect thing in his life.

He wasn't oblivious to the way she turned away from him, hiding her face to try and conceal the look of disgust at her own imperfections. His palm splayed over her back in reassurance as he instinctively leant down to try and heal the puckered skin; she would always be beautiful to him.

As he reached for her bra hook, he was determined to prove to her just how flawless she was.

She reached for him quickly, her chest pressing against his as she sought comfort in his mouth, in his hair, in his skin. Her hands were roaming again, squeezing his shoulder and caressing the back of his neck as he reached up to let her hair down.

But their kisses suddenly eased, tenderness seeping through and replacing the urgency that had been so prevalent before.

She held him as he fanned her hair, her hand dropping down onto his décolletage before she just wanted him to kiss her and she found her finger trailing underneath his cheekbone to hold him in place. He smiled slightly against her mouth as she let him suck her bottom lip in-between his, nibbling as his hands reached for her jean button.

She gave up no fight when he flicked it open, hooking her arm around his neck as they tried to pull them off without breaking apart. When they almost fell onto their backs, she gave up, shuffling out of the offending material and her remaining clothing before she lay back and watched him strip too. He wouldn't take his eyes off her, his eyes roaming over her chest, her legs and up to her mouth where he licked his lips before averting his gaze back to her eyes.

Before he flung the jeans far out of reach, he dug into the pocket to find the item he'd been so perilously searching for in Lucas' bathroom; who knew the guy would actually come through and have condoms in there.

"Caleb," She sat up on her elbows and bit her lip as he shuffled towards her, in between her legs.

"What?" He murmured, leaning down to kiss her softly as she reached out for the foil in his hands.

"No," She shook her head, stealing the rubber from his fingers before looking over their shoulder and throwing it in the fire.

"Hanna!"

She cupped his cheeks again and forced him to look at her, "I haven't felt you in three years," Her eyes averted his and looked down at his chest, watching her finger as it settled in the middle.

"I know," He leant over her, his elbows either side of her head as she lay there, naked, waiting for him on the rug. "I _know_ ," He sighed, his head dropping to rest on hers before he placed a delicate kiss against her lips.

"It's fine," She whispered against his mouth.

He didn't say anything. He got what she was saying.

He smiled, one hand coming up to stroke the front of her hair back from her face as he let their mouths meet. The way she was kissing him, the way her body was arching up to meet his - he knew she wanted this as much as him. His hand trailed across her hair, finding her palm that was thrown back against the rug. He interlaced their fingers, gripping her hand as their mouths continued to push and his hips settled in between her legs.

She arched against him again as his other hand dipped down into her centre, _just_ checking that she really was as ready for him as he thought she was. His mouth opened further against hers, swallowing her moans as his finger dipped inside her and his thumb grazed her clit. Her hand dropped down from his hip to find his cock, pumping him twice before he pulled her off him. He couldn't have her do that now, not when he was on the edge already.

Their kiss broke and for a moment, the world fully disappeared as they stared at each other. Their faces illuminated by the sheen of light from the fire, she could see the one question he was asking her silently written all over his features.

 _Are you sure?_

She'd never been more sure of anything in her life.

Her answer was a kiss, her neck craning to gently put her lips on his.

And then she felt him, pushing into her, stretching her in the most delicious way possible. She couldn't help herself, throwing her head back and stifling a groan as he sunk all the way into her. The clenched hands gripped tighter and her free palm found his back, roaming up to his shoulder as he started to move inside of her. She wanted his mouth again and searched blindly with her eyes fluttered shut until she found it.

As he thrust into her slowly, savouring every second, she momentarily thought of Jordan. He'd never made her feel like this. And then she thought of Spencer - was she as good? Was she better?

Caleb sensed her diverting thoughts as her tongue stopped moving against his. He knew where her mind was running, he was right there too wondering about who else she'd been with. But he pushed it to the back of his mind and lifted a hand to her jawline, encouraging her back to him. He meant it when he'd said he never wanted to spend another day without her; physically, mentally, emotionally. He meant all of her.

He broke their kiss and she was with him again, gazing into his eyes as she started to move in time with him. Her eyes were driving him out of control and to stop himself ending it all then, he buried his face in her neck, biting on the skin as she lifted one of her legs up around his waist. He felt her hand in his hair, tugging, clenching as their interlaced hands gripped beside them still.

She groaned and her eyes squeezed shut. She didn't want to reach this point by herself but the feel of him, the way he could do things to her meant her body didn't have a choice. She was about to tumble right over the edge.

He felt her familiar stirrings, the noises, the tightening, and he was right there with her. "Hanna," He moaned, finding her lips again as his hips increased their pace. She angled her hips, seeking release before she finally felt it.

She screamed into his mouth as he held her tightly, squeezing around him as the heat and wetness became too much for him too. He spilled into her, still caressing her lips with his own as they came undone as one.

They lay there on the floor, heat easing as they both fought impossibly for the moment to be endlessly enduring.

But it could never be and he slipped out of her and rolled onto his side, their hands letting each other go the first time since they'd fallen onto the rug.

They were content and satiated for a moment until she looked up at him and felt her eyes watering as he pulled her against his sweaty chest. She never thought she'd be here; having to fight to get him back, having to lose him in the first place.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, kissing her gently. He didn't want her to regret it, God, please, no.

"I hate that we're here," She said quietly, her fingers on his chest as she looked up into his eyes. "That we wasted so much time," She clarified.

"I'm sorry," His voice broke and his hands laced through her hair, "I will never forgive myself for walking out, for believing you put your job ahead of us."

"But I did," She whispered, avoiding eye contact.

"You came back," He murmured, running his hand down her shoulder.

"It wasn't enough," She lifted a hand to wipe at her eye as a stray tear leaked out. "I should have gone to Europe, I should have stalked you on Facebook and found out where you were."

"You mean, you didn't?" He quirked an eyebrow, jokingly.

She didn't smile, just shook her head and spoke quietly, "It hurt too much."

"It never has to hurt again," He frowned, holding her as close as possible. He knew it would have been hard for him and for her, but sometimes it struck him how broken she was. He hated thinking that he'd caused any of that. "Being..." He started but trailed off; he didn't know whether he should bring it up. Gulping, he went for it, "Being with Spencer was me knowing that one day she'd lead me back to you. Without her... I never knew if I'd see you again."

"I thought it was what you wanted," Hanna swallowed uncomfortably.

"I thought you were getting married," He stroked a piece of stray hair behind her ear.

Hanna sniffled, "Jordan was like a Q-tip. Have you ever tried to wet a Q-tip?"

"Well, no."

"Exactly, they just fall apart and all that protection that was there at the beginning turns into pointless mush."

"So he's a Q-tip?" Caleb murmured, drawing her into him again.

Her features relaxed and she let herself smile up at him, "He's a Q-tip," She agreed quietly, tilting her head up to let him kiss her tenderly. His hand ran up her back as her naked chest pressed against his, both of then desperate to just feel each other.

"Hanna," He pulled back to draw breath, staring into her blue orbs as they both caught their breath. "I love you."

She rubbed her lips together, before she let herself smile, "I love you too."

He rolled her onto her back again, settling on top of her as peace surrounded them. "I am so in love with you," He murmured again, his hands in her hair as she lay like a perfect angel on the rug, "And I'm never letting you go again."

With her hands on his neck, she felt her eyes glistening again as she took in his words. Being loved by Caleb Rivers was all she'd ever wanted. "I'm not letting you," She agreed, before their lips were together again and she was pouring everything she felt into the kiss.

He wasn't surprised that he was hard again; being with Hanna always turned him on more than anything else in the world and all he wanted to do was to show her how much he loved her. He flipped them over, lying back and watching as she took control, settling herself on top of him, "You ready?" He murmured as she leant over him to rest her forehead on his. It was a question about the moment, it was a question about their future, it was a question about forever.

She'd never felt more ready in her life.

* * *

Hanna woke to the shrill sound of her ringtone cutting through the silence. It took her a moment to process why she was on the floor, why there was a naked arm wrapped around her and why she was in a man's shirt before she realised she really needed to answer the call. As soon as she stood, she felt cold but she reminded herself Caleb would not be going anywhere in the minutes it took for her to hear that her evidence would prove Noel Kahn was Mary Drake's other child.

Only that wasn't what she heard, and she needed to explain to the girls what she'd done. Now.

"Why are you over there?" Caleb's sleepy mumbling pulled her attention back to him and she locked her phone and spun round.

"My phone rang," She answered honestly, leaving it on the side as she made her way back over to him. "I need to go," She whispered, kneeling down next to him as he laid on his side and looked up at her.

"No you don't," He smiled lazily, his hand running up her thigh under the bottom of his shirt. "And definitely not, in my shirt," He murmured, his fingers inching higher to caress her hip. "I don't remember you going to sleep in that."

"I got cold," She replied, rubbing his arm gently.

He pulled her on top of him and leant back against the cushion as she straddled his lap. His hands sat on her thighs and he rubbed soothingly as he took in the strained look on her face. "I can help warm you up," He lifted a hand to toy with one of the buttons on the shirt.

"I kidnapped Noel."

"What?"

"I kidnapped him," She held a hand against her forehead, "And I took his blood to the lab to prove he was Mary's son."

"And?" Caleb found himself sitting up, holding her tighter.

"I messed up."

She fell against his chest, throwing her arms around him. "It's gonna be okay," He cradled her head against his neck, pressing a gentle kiss against her hair.

"I need to tell the girls," She whispered.

He nodded understandingly as she sat back up, reaching a hand up to stroke her cheek reassuringly. Selfishly, he didn't want her to go, but he knew she had to. "But..." He trailed off, undoing the top button on the shirt to leave an open space for his mouth to press delicate kisses against her skin, "You need to shower." She smiled as his lips devoured her chest and her fingers ran through his hair. "And I need a shower," He murmured, trailing his mouth up her neck. "We should save water to make up for the dry cleaning of the rug."

"Lucas can afford it," She tried to argue as he managed to stand up with her in his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her towards the bathroom.

"No talking about Lucas," He said, putting her down on the tiled floor so that he could turn the shower on and rid her of his shirt. "No talking at all," He murmured in her ear, before they were under the spray and taking each other all over again.

She was 5 minutes late to Spencer's.

And for the first time since coming back to Rosewood, since being tortured by A.D., she could talk about what was happening, what she'd done without feeling dead inside.

Caleb was her air, and he'd breathed life right back into her. She was never going to be breathless again.

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 **Review? xox**


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